Ion Chromatography is a test for ionic cleanliness that was adapted for the electronics manufacturing industry by Foresite's president, Terry Munson.  Working with the IPC, Terry has helped develop TM 650.2.3.28 - Ion Chromatography test method for Ionic Cleanliness.  During ion chromatography testing, various ionic species such as chloride, bromide, sulfate, phosphate, nitrate or weak organic acids are separated into columns based on the speed by which they travel through a liquid eluent.  Foresite has worked with electronics manufacturers for 15 years using ion chromatography to determine contaminants that are present on electronic assemblies and bare boards.  Such contaminants, when mixed with moisture and an applied voltage, often contribute to electrochemical failures.  Ion chromatography is the means by which to determine what contaminants are present. 

Foresite uses the expertise we have gained through working with over 1000 clients to help our customers figure out what steps in their process are contributing to contamination.  One of the primary sources of contamination is fluxes when they are not fully complexed.  You can read much more about Foresite's applications of ion chromatography and the common sources of contamination in our resources section.  You will find many case studies and published articles dealing with product reliability issues here.

In addition to ion chromatography testing, Foresite recommends that its customers practice ongoing process monitoring on the manufacturing floor in order to catch contamination concerns before they become costly field failures or create a need to send samples off to a lab.  We offer a tool to accomplish this called the C3.  Click here to learn more about the C3 and its applications for electronics manufacturers.

The Failure of a Circuit

This article discusses the various failure mechanisms that are cause regularly by harmful ionic contaminants reacting with moisture and an applied voltage.

>>Read Full Article:  The Failure of a Circuit

Process Residues Cause Field Performance Problems

This is a look into how severe the consequences of ionic contamination can be to product performance.  A study was done to show how ion chromatography results correlate to those of SIR, but ROSE testing shows no correlation to neither ion chromatography or SIR testing.

>>Read Full Article:  Process Residues Cause Field Performance Problems

How Clean is Clean?

A study that examines how Ion Chromatography with C3 localized extraction correlates well with product performance while ROSE testing can overlook pockets of contamination.

>>Read Full Article:  How Clean is Clean?

Find more Articles & Case Studies in the Resources section of our site